Hideko's Shinobi Handbook - The Chronicles of a Kunoichi
by 666Notorious666
Summary: With my father, I came here to The Leaf Village for a better life, but it was never the same after I received my teammates. It was quite obvious that I wasn't anything but average. Average skills, average looks. I was an average wallflower covered in thorns. I was always told by father I reminded him of mom. I had to find who I was. I couldn't be anyone else.


_**Hideko's Shinobi Handbook - The Chronicles of a Kunoichi**_

**Summary: With my father, I came here to The Leaf Village for a better life, but it was never the same after I received my teammates. It was quite obvious that I wasn't anything but average. Average skills, average looks. I was an average wallflower covered in thorns. I was always told by father I reminded him of mom. I had to find who I was. I couldn't be anyone else.**

**Quick Author Note: I've been a bit silly with who I was, a lot like my main character. I may have offended people along the way, and probably wasn't a good writer. I'm still not amazing and I claim not to be. I've touched on this story a little bit, with two chapters after this and I hope you enjoy.**

...

Alright, let me get one thing done right. Calm...

"Hey, if you're going to be first, then hurry it up!" said the blond-haired kid.

As the class giggled their butts off, I figured someone had to teach them a lesson, and I would do just that.

"Alright, alright," Iruka-sensei berated the bratty blond kid, "That's enough from you, Naruto."

I bore a grin, time to show them that they were wrong. I placed the kunai in my palm. This type of knife that Ninja used usually wasn't terribly sharp and was more used for hand-to-hand combat, although smaller kunai for throwing must be handled with care. I ran straight toward the target, jumped diagonally backward, to my right, and bounded straight into the air on my left. The blond kid soon called out as a joke, "Don't fall!" and he threw me off kilter.

Whether or not he said anything, I followed through and sent it straight over the top of the target las usual. Although unlike in practice I stupidly fell on my elbow, but no one knew until I put weight on it getting that I had I hurt my elbow bad. I whined and groaned as the class laughed their butts off, and Naruto received the nastiest look I had seen from anyone... from our sensei no less. Naruto immediately snapped back into place as I was crying as the class continued to laugh. I touched the bruise I realized the blood collected in my arm. Iruka-sensei helped me up and I cried like a little girl. After all, that's what I was. I was a little girl that tried to be someone more than I was, but I digress.

"We'll go to the nurse, okay, Hideko?" said Iruka-sensei, sounding concerned.

As soon as I walked into the nurse's office, Iruka-sensei left to go back to his class, and the nurse took care of me. After the nurse took a needle to me to drain the wound and patched me up, I went back to class about 20 minutes later. With the minutes of Iruka-sensei calming me down outside the door, I was still a nervous wreck but remembered to bow in respect. I still didn't want to think about what other people would say about me crying like a baby. Jeez, I really blew everyone's first impression of me. This was why I failed the entrance exam twice. I was so weak and behind everyone else. But all was not lost—the nurse promised me a lollypop for being good for her after class. That cheered me up a bit.

My name was Takahashi Hideko. This probably sounds corny, but my dad said we came here for a better life. Unfortunately, I never remembered much about my village like the name of it and the people there. But I heard stories from my father, and I pictured it every night when I dreamed. The people always smiled, and no one was a Ninja. They were ordinary people who lived ordinary lives. Ninja and their nations, they were people of combat and warfare, I lived in a land that never even heard of the term, "Chakra." I would be the first one of my land to harness that power. That was part of the reason why we came here to the Leaf Village in the first place, for my dad to find work as a contractor and for me to learn how to be a Shinobi. The reason why we were here was for opportunity, and we found it.

When I walked back in class with my bandages wrapped around the bruise, they all smiled and whispered to their neighbor. It must've been the fall I took. I must've looked like an idiot... although, I saw they never stared at me or laughed. They were excited about something, though.

"Oh, I forgot to mention to you, Hideko, we'll all be learning the Transformation Technique today, and you will be delving into using your chakra for the first time. Take some time to get acquainted with Naruto if your wish, I've already given him his punishment, and the rest of the class may speak quietly for a few minutes while I retrieve some copies of grading charts from the copy room."

The chatter of the room picked up as soon as he said this. I strolled up to the front row of the seats and turned toward the only seat which was next to the blond kid. I assumed this was Naruto. Even though he was a jerk, I didn't blame him. He was singled out among the rest of the kids who were laughing just as loud, if not louder. I wasn't blaming him for comment since it didn't really mess up my shot—he just distracted me and I got injured. Ninja get injuries all the time. Then again, Iruka-sensei as a teacher should be concerned about injuries, accident or not. Given the circumstances of Naruto demeanor, he had to sit in the front next to me for punishment. I sat down and began to speak with him, as Iruka had instructed me to do.

"Naruto, wasn't it?" I said to the blond.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. You know, about your arm. I guess you're okay?" Naruto didn't really sound sorry, but even if Iruka-sensei told him to say it, I was more worried about the others. Naruto was the only one getting punished for really nothing but a comment. Despite sounding rude just now, he apologized without hesitation.

I frowned and looked down... "Well, I made a fool out of myself."

"I guess. Just don't worry about it—everyone's too excited to start Ninjutsu class anyway—I could tell you were a little nervous coming in here. My first day was last year, so I had to adjust."

I blinked twice. "You know, I thought you weren't a nice person... care to tell me why you distracted me?" I said, frowning.

"Because—well—I don't know... probably because I'm like that normally. I'm always trying to make people laugh." he said. The boy smiled and chuckled sheepishly, "Also, the same thing happened to me when I was throwing Kunai for the first time, even though I know that wasn't your first time. That would have been cool if the hit connected! Everyone laughed and made fun of me when mine went straight over the target. I expected you to be angry at me, but you talked to me first. How weird is that?"

"I don't know. How often do you find nice people?"

"Eh... I don't know. Almost never I guess."

Never? Naruto probably just said it to get attention from me, but when I grinned and laughed, stared for a second then turned away with a glare at our table. Huh? Wasn't he joking? By then Iruka-sensei came back in, and for a split second, I felt Iruka-sensei was going to glare at him, he smiled and nodded his head to me. Did he understand Naruto a bit better than me? Well he is the teacher.

"Everyone, line up to my left and walk up to the front!" said Iruka-sensei cheerily, "And no pushing!"

Soon after we came to the left side of the room, I walked up to the front of the class when it was my turn. I was nervous and wondering when exactly I'd find something was good at.

"Okay, next up is Hideko. I want you to get a feel for your chakra like everyone else has already in chakra control class. Let some of it seep out of your body and follow along with the seals I will make with my hands with the correct hand leading. These seals will only be useable with the user goes through them in the correct order and speaks the jutsu's name. Commands are necessary—all you have to say is "Transform" Transform into me."

I had kicked up a flurry of chakra and mimicked the seals perfectly. I had never felt the extent of all this power... it felt great.

But the kids were laughing—when I looked down I realized I had transformed into Iruka, but he was wearing bigger versions of my clothes. Given that I wore guy's cargo shorts and a blouse all the time, it wasn't as awkward. As he raised his chin, Iruka looked at me with a death gaze. "If you're going to joke around, don't do it in my class." his expression softened and then he spoke yet again, "Sorry about that, I'm just used to Naruto playing jokes, I guess. Go on. Try again."

I looked back and saw Naruto laughing little butt off. Crap, it's my first at the Academy and I already made a fool out of myself! And I'm not sure if Naruto was laughing with me unlike the rest of the boys who were peeing their pants right about now. I bet they never saw Iruka in a women's blouse before.

I felt so embarrassed that I tried again. It got worse, even though the clothes were different I looked exactly like myself. Iruka contained himself as best he could.

"What a loser, she can't even get a transformation right." said black-haired kid.

Naruto was still laughing like a maniac.

"Go back to your seat. We'll have a talk later." said Iruka as his expression softened a bit, but he still looked nasty.

When class was over, I sat in my seat waiting for Iruka to finish the note he was going to give me.

"Don't open it until you get home." he said, but something about the small smile on his face seemed odd. I was unsure, but not suspicious.

As soon as I exited the school, I looked around to see if anyone was watching. For a moment, I felt bad enough to maybe stop myself, but I read the note anyway.

"Dear Takahashi-san—I would like to inform you that your daughter is having trouble controlling her chakra. Hideko does not quite understand what is going on, and many of the kids are rude to her. They see her as a failure. If you are not a ninja yourself, you might not understand how crucial chakra control is. I want to continue to say that it takes a long time for a young shinobi to master it. Not only is her chakra immense, but it's comparative to one of my other students who has the same problem. I want to say that everyone has a limit. Everyone here is learning, and I don't want Hideko to think she is in trouble, but I had to be tough on her today because she needs to understand that she must not draw attention to herself. She must not fall into being troublemaker. Even though she did nothing wrong, I don't want her down that path. If her studies are not going well, I will inform you the next time her mistakes."

Before even opening it, I had hot tears in my eyes. The note changed me from red to blue. Now the question is, why? It wasn't so simple. It hurt when everyone laughed at me in jutsu class while Iruka stood by and watched. He originally scolded me for it, but now I learned that he wasn't mad at me. He was concerned. I had to show these people that I could do so much more than this—I had to practice that Kunai Technique.

I walked up with my kunai to the nearest tree and carved tiny circle and an X no more than the size of a thumbnail. I started to do that same move. I practiced over and over, running up to the target, jumping away diagonally and then entering the air with a sidestep. This energy was coming from somewhere, but for hours it seemed like it was unlimited. I fell to the ground, but I kept going, keeping the motion consistent. I felt someone behind me who I now saw out in the open; Iruka was watching me.

"Ouh." said the man.

"I-Iruka-sensei!" I said falling on my bruised arm yet again, but the pain didn't get any worse than the first time.

"Just letting you know I'm here," he smiled, "Oh, and I know you read the letter."

"Um, you saw me reading it?"

"I was just going to just see when you'd actually open it, and yes, I did," said Iruka scratching the back of his neck with his eyes closed, "I know you're a bit showy, but that last one was good."

"Really? Didn't hit the target."

He tilted his head toward the tree, and I turned to look. It had landed dead center.

"You really trained for that long? You see, your father's going to worry if you don't go home soon."

"He's... he'll be okay." I said, then started to think, He's never around most of the time anyway, has to go through tons of paperwork and contracts for building.

"You don't have to show him the letter, but let's check and see if your bruise is better," he walked over to me and knelt down, "Does this feel sore? Maybe more tender than before?"

I shook my head. It was totally fine. I didn't land on my arm until just now anyway, "No, not really."

"Next time land standing up, so you don't hurt that left arm of yours."

"I'm right-handed," I said.

"But you need both your arms to fight," he ruffled my hair, hinting that we might study Taijutsu tomorrow, "I hope you do well in my class."

...

I practiced a little more until I couldn't quite see the tree. After became dark, I went home and the next day I went to school with confidence. In the first few subjects I did alright, and I got to show off that move earlier in the day. Iruka-sensei taught something called arithmetic, and it was something my 7-year-old tongue as a hard to pronounce. We also did history and geography and I learned that there were 5 Largest Ninja Nations, our very own Land of Fire being one of them. The leader of the military for the Land of Fire was the Hokage, and we even got to meet him as we sat on the roof of The Academy in one of our classes.

"So, can anyone tell me what's important for a ninja?" said the Hokage. Three hands shot up, one of them being mine. I was chosen first.

"A Ninja has to have good skills, not just in ninjutsu, but all of them, right?" I said looking proudly with my chin up in the air.

"Close, but there are things even more important than that. Dare I ask you, Naruto, for the answer?"

Naruto was one of the two other hands that raised with mine. He looked confident as well, "It's all about acknowledgement for your strength! It's not just being good at jutsu. All Ninja know that."

Everyone giggled slightly. However, stared at him for a long moment. He seemed to understand more than I did about Ninja... I thought it was to be strong, but true ninja were acknowledged for their strength. He knew that more than I did even though I had better grades, but that isn't saying much for me.

"Still, not quite the answer I'm looking for," said the Hokage.

Naruto immediately said, "What?! You're crazy old man," said Naruto.

Iruka-sensei shook his head and pinched his brow.

The third kid that raised his hand soon said, "Lame... Naruto, you don't get it... do you. It's not about skills or acknowledgement. It's only about using your abilities for the good of your village."

"And that was the answer I was looking for," said the Hokage, "Quite... and what is your name, may I ask?"

"Shikamaru," said the boy.

"Everyone, listen to what the Hokage has to say," said Iruka, "Especially you, Naruto."

The class laughed and the Hokage spoke, "You are all right... but that's only part of it. There is something that our founders of this great village once held dear to them, and they passed it to me, to Iruka, and to you three. Abilities and recognition are advantageous qualities, but I want you to be realistic. Most ninja never make it back from the battlefield. Even I might die one day, hopefully defending this village like my successor. Although a lost shinobi is not forgotten by the ones they love, a ninja must always choose the path of what their hearts tell them is right."

A fourth then raised his hand, "What if you just want to prove yourself?" said the kid, not waiting to be called on. He was a bit haughty and sounded rude. Then I realized it was that kid… Sasuke Uchiha

"Forgive my question. My question is to you is who do you want to prove something to?" said the Hokage, smiling at him.

"I want to prove it to a person that I can be stronger." said the boy, who was practically emotionless in his tone and expression. "That's something no one can take away from me, whether my life or my destiny."

The Hokage stared and looked like he was analyzing the boy, and I was right about his name after every one of the girls squealed, "Sasuke!" Even I was taken aback by the reaction because all the girls seemed infatuated, but somehow, I was not impressed.

"Well Sasuke, I hope you find this person and make him understand," said the Hokage, who was staring at Sasuke with a little smile. Sasuke ticked.

We walked down from the roof every girl was talking about how Sasuke could be the next Hokage, and that he wanted to prove his love to them. It made me kind of queasy as well, because I had heard from people that he had no family left. Something in my head told me me to talk to him, and he eventually I noticed the boy came down the stairs and I walked up to him.

"H-Hi Sasuke," I said. Was I really this timid?

Sasuke stared for a second and started walking away with a shake of his head to the sky.

I looked down angrily. Maybe I should give him some space?

"What's so great about that guy, huh, Hideko?" said Naruto laughing a bit. "He just totally ignored you."

"What do you know?" I said bitterly.

"Eh, I knew it," said Naruto jokingly. "You like him, right? I've never seen someone so pathetic as to just turn up someone like you."

"No, you don't know me or him. Have you ever lost someone? He's going through so much not having a family."

"Hmph. He's not the only who doesn't have a family, at least you have a dad."

"Hmm, so every day you're without a mom to kiss you on the head going to school, a mom to fix you meals, or a mom to read stories to you at night so you don't have terrible dreams every night of a village burning to the ground," I said, not meaning to tack on that last little bit, "Well, Naruto, I don't know what it's like to have a mom, but I never knew what it was like to have a family."

Naruto stared, but then shrugged.

...

"Alright, who wants to start today's matches?" said our teacher Iruka happily raising his arms out. "Can I get some volunteers?"

We were in the sparring fields today since it wasn't even wet or even the least bit muddy for today's matches. It would be less messt then, I guess. Anyway, I raised my hand. Naruto's hand immediately shot up.

"Well! We have an interesting match-up."

We went through the conventions of an official match, such as the seal of confrontation and the count down from 3. After we heard "Go!" I took off like a rocket. I ran up to him and thew a punch to his chest, but he simply moved out of the way. "Eyahh!" I groaned. Naruto looked totally serious, and that was what was pissing me off. For moments on end he kept dodging my attacks, waiting for something. I knew were I was standing in respects to the boundaries of the field, but he seemed to have the field advantage almost all the time, trying to run me off the edge in every step. He wasn't just toying with me; he was ready to knock me out.

When I tried for a butterfly kick, but he countered and tripped me. "When did you get so strong?" I said, panting.

Naruto smiled shrugged.

He literally pinned me in two minutes of fighting. That was the longest two minutes of my life.

"I was watching you when you wanted to use that kunai move, along with Iruka. Stop whining about life being unfair."

He walked away and Naruto easily parted the crowd. Ninjas had to grow up fast... I understood that part. I had to grow stronger, too. Not just for Iruka, but for Naruto as well. Even if Sasuke or anyone else didn't care—Naruto did care. That's all that matters, right? From now on, he's my rival. I'm not letting him get close to me, but I'm not letting him go either.


End file.
